Her husband, with whom she had shared a bed for three years, stood beside another woman and hurled insults at her.
He could only see Yu Huiyan's tears, but not her bleeding wounds.
"I want the real culprit to pay the price!"
Each word she uttered was firm, and her eyes were filled with stubbornness.
This woman, who was always as gentle as water, tolerant and kind, suddenly became aggressive. Liang Yuzhou felt that she was like a hedgehog. Although already covered in wounds, she still mustered the last bit of strength to point her sharpest spines at him.
Yu Huiyan was frightened by Song Wanchu's sharp gaze. She always felt that Song Wanchu seemed to know something, which was why she kept pestering them.
"Have you had enough of this nonsense!"
Rage flashed across Liang Yuzhou's face. "You've already offended the Gao family, and now you're going to implicate the Yu family. Is this how you disgrace the Duke's Mansion? Don't think that just because the old lady regards you as the mistress of the house, you're really the mistress!"
In his heart, Yu Huiyan's grievances, the dignity of Princess Jiahe, and the reputation of the Duke's Mansion were all more important than the life of a concubine like her.
This must be the feeling of utter despair.
Her thin and injured shoulders could no longer bear the weight of a broken heart. A suffocating pain welled up in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.
Song Wanchu's vision went black, and her body slumped softly to the ground.
Before she fainted, she had a hallucination. Liang Yuzhou pushed Yu Huiyan aside and rushed towards her anxiously...
When she woke up, it was already noon the next day. Song Wanchu opened her eyes and stared blankly at the bed curtain. It took her a while to fully regain her senses.
"Miss, you're finally awake!"
Nanzhi and Suyue had stayed up all night, crying all the while. Their eyes were red now.
"Doctor Shen came last night. She redressed your wounds and told us that you should stay in bed for the next few days. You mustn't make any sudden movements or get too emotional."
Nanzhi reminded her carefully.
"If Miss hadn't risked her life to get the heart - blood for the Second Master, she wouldn't have developed this heart disease!"
Suyue angrily wiped away her tears. "Miss got all these injuries for the Second Master, but how did the Second Master treat her! I... I wish I could stab him with a knife!"
The young girl had practiced martial arts since childhood and had a fiery temper.
Liang Yuzhou, who was about to enter the room, stopped in his tracks when he heard this.
If Song Wanchu had really lied about getting the heart - blood, there would be no need for her maids to say such things when there was no one else around.
Unless what Song Wanchu said was true.
Nanzhi stayed in the room to take care of Song Wanchu, while Suyue went out to fetch hot water.
Seeing Liang Yuzhou, the young girl turned her head away angrily and bowed perfunctorily. "Second Master, our miss just woke up. Doctor Shen said she mustn't get too emotional. You'd better not go in."
Was this girl accusing him of making Song Wanchu emotional?
"Stop."
Liang Yuzhou, who rarely showed a smile, had an imposing aura. Suyue was young and was a bit afraid of him.
"Does the Second Master have something to ask?"
Liang Yuzhou softened his voice. "Three years ago, at the palace banquet, did you see your miss getting the heart - blood with your own eyes?"
Suyue resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was unbelievable that after Miss had almost lost her life for him, he knew nothing about it.
Well, it made sense. Any person with a conscience would never be so cold - hearted towards his savior.
Unless he had no heart at all.
Thinking this way, Suyue actually glanced at Liang Yuzhou's chest.
"What are you looking at? Answer me!"
There was a hint of urgency in his tone.
Suyue looked up, meeting his deep black eyes, and said confidently, "Neither I nor Sister Nanzhi saw it with our own eyes. But Miss was a perfectly fine person when she was called into the inner chamber by the Princess. When she came out, she was carried out!
There was a big and deep wound on her chest. Blood kept flowing, and she was in a coma for three days. Uncle and Aunt begged everyone they could to invite Doctor Shen, who finally saved Miss's life!
The first thing Miss said when she woke up was to ask if the Second Master's poison was cured..."
As she spoke, Suyue's voice trembled with sobs. She really didn't want to recall Miss's miserable state back then!
Although the best medicine was used, Miss still developed a heart disease. She could no longer ride horses, practice swordsmanship, or martial arts...
But Liang Yuzhou was the master, so Suyue didn't dare to cry too loudly in front of him.
"Go down. Don't tell anyone about my questioning you."
Liang Yuzhou's voice was as calm as water, but doubts were swirling in his heart.
That day when he was poisoned, since it was inconvenient for an outsider to enter the harem, he was temporarily placed in the Princess's Mansion.
When he woke up, everyone told him that it was Yu Huiyan who had cut out her heart - blood as a medicinal guide to detoxify him.
He went to see Yu Huiyan. She was indeed pale, as if she had lost a lot of blood.
He also asked the doctor in the Princess's Mansion. The doctor said that although Yu Huiyan had survived, she would suffer from chest pains and needed to be carefully nursed. She especially couldn't catch a cold, or her condition would worsen.
The Princess even joked with him in front of Princess Jiahe, saying that since Yu Huiyan had almost lost her life for him, he had to marry her to repay her kindness.
Who on earth was lying?
...
"Nanzhi, bring me the almanac."
Tearing off a page of the almanac every morning had become Song Wanchu's habit.
"Only fifty days left."
"Only fifty days left for what?"
Song Wanchu's muttering was heard by Liang Yuzhou.
The morning sun shone on his tall figure, casting a faint shadow on Song Wanchu's face.
His gaze was no longer as cold and sinister as last night. There was a hint of exhaustion in it, indicating that he had been running around for Yu Huiyan all night.
"In fifty days, it will be three years since I married the Second Master."
After a pause, she corrected herself. "I was wrong. I'm not worthy of the word 'marry'. It will be three years since I was taken into the Duke's Mansion as a concubine."
Who was the wife and who was the concubine? Liang Yuzhou knew better than her.
Ironically, the day when the concubine - releasing letter would take effect happened to be the day when she married Liang Yuzhou.
She touched her chest and felt that it was cold and empty.
The feeling of having no heart was actually quite good.
She didn't even want to look at Liang Yuzhou anymore.
Hearing her deliberately belittle herself again and again, Liang Yuzhou was filled with nameless anger.
"Yu Rongbai has already admitted in prison that he was the one who planned the carriage - crashing incident. He signed a confession and was flogged fifty times. Yu Jingnian was fined one year's salary for his lax supervision."
Liang Yuzhou informed her expressionlessly. "This matter ends here."
Sure enough, Yu Huiyan was completely exonerated.
It was worth Liang Yuzhou running around for her all night.
Song Wanchu knew very well that Liang Yuzhou was sharp - minded and would never be deceived by Yu Huiyan's few tears.
He would feel sorry for her, but he would also have doubts.
It could only be said that he loved Yu Huiyan so much that he was willing to cover up her secret attacks on her.
Who asked her to be insignificant in his heart?
Hearing this result, Song Wanchu could only laugh coldly at herself.
As Liang Yuzhou walked out of Shuiyun Residence, he ran into Yu Huiyan head - on.